Native Tongue

Native Tongue

We build software for learning languages the way people actually speak them.

Native Tongue LLC is an independent software company registered in Wyoming, United States. We make study tools for people learning a second language, with a focus on the spoken register: the contractions, dropped endings, and everyday word choices that native speakers use and that textbooks tend to leave out.

Our apps are native, written in Swift for macOS and iOS. We publish them ourselves, run our own support inbox, and answer for our own mistakes. Our first product is Puhekieli, for Finnish.

How we work

Spoken first
Learners get stuck when the language on the page does not match the language in the room. We start from how people talk.
Native apps
Swift and SwiftUI rather than a wrapped web view, so the apps stay fast and behave like the platform they run on.
Restrained data collection
No advertising, no third party analytics, no tracking across apps or sites. See our privacy policy.
Supported directly
Mail to contact@nativetongue.io reaches the people who build the software.
Our app

Puhekieli

Learn Finnish the way it's really spoken.

In development, coming to the App Store and Mac App Store

Everything you need to actually speak.

1 app. 7 tools. In your pocket and on your Mac.

Type or say it in English. Hear the Finnish Finns actually use, spoken and written.

Inside the app

Puhekieli is a native app for macOS and iPhone, written in Swift and SwiftUI. The Mac version runs on macOS 14 or later on Apple Silicon.

  • Puhekieli on iPhone showing Word of the Day: the Finnish phrase Ykssuuntanen lippu, its English meaning a one-way ticket, and a spoken example sentence with playback buttons. Word of the Day, a spoken phrase with its plain sense
  • A Puhekieli exercise on iPhone asking the learner to match English words to their spoken Finnish equivalents such as ma oon, moi and sa. Exercises drill the spoken forms, not the textbook ones
  • The Puhekieli translate screen on iPhone, ready to turn English into spoken Finnish, with buttons for camera input, photos, documents and dictation. Translate by typing, speaking, or from a photo

What it does

Two way translation
English to Finnish and back, with a toggle between the spoken and written Finnish register.
Say it
Text to speech on any result, so you hear the phrase before you try it.
Meaning and grammar
A breakdown that splits words into stems and endings and explains the case and consonant gradation at work.
Dictation
Speak instead of typing, using Apple's Speech framework, on device where the system supports it.
Input from images
Drag in a photo, PDF, or screenshot and the text is pulled out for translation.
History and phrasebook
Every translation saved and searchable. Star the keepers and sort them into folders.
Quiz and review
Test yourself on saved phrases, scheduled so material returns before you forget it.
Lesson finder
Jump from a phrase to Finnish teaching videos covering the grammar behind it.
Visit the Puhekieli site

Full feature tour, pricing, and FAQ.

Contact

General enquiries, press, and support: contact@nativetongue.io. We read every message and normally reply within a few business days, in English or Finnish.

Native Tongue LLC
5830 E 2nd St, Ste 7000 #36993
Casper, WY 82609, United States